Friday, 27 November 2009

Radar recommends: 28 Nov - 4 Dec

[There Will Be Fireworks at The Caves on Tuesday. Not the deathtrap it sounds.]

Let's face it. We're rapidly heading into festive season, so you might want to give your wallet (and your liver) a rest this week in preparation for the month of parties, work nights out and gigs ahead.

But we're not letting you off the hook that easily. Gig temptations coming your way...

AberdeenFrightened RabbitTuesday @ The Warehouse / 7.30pm / £12The popular Fat Cat signed band tour new material ahead of the release of their third album in the new year.Also playing The Ironworks, Inverness on Sunday and Fat Sam's, Dundee on Wednesday.

Ringo Deathstarr, The Manikees, The DebutsThursday @ Sneaky Pete's / 7pm / £6Not Ringo Starr, not the Deathstar, rather a disturbing combination of the two in musical form. The Austin Texas nu-gaze quartet's first UK tour hits the Wee Red Bar on Thursday.Ringo Deathstarr also play the Captain's Rest, Glasgow on Friday.

**UtR's gig of the week**There Will Be Fireworks, Broken Records (solo acoustic), Saint Jude's Infirmary, Meursault (solo acoustic)Thursday @ The Caves / 8pm / £5 (£3 in advance from Avalanche)Back in July There Will Be Fireworks burst on to the scene with an impressive, impassioned debut LP that had us scrabbling for adjectives. And we're not the only ones. Avalanche record shop has selected the Glasgow band for their next Album Club, and this launch party looks like a great night of music. More info here

Ten Tracks: Found, Meursault, Panda SuFriday @ Roxy Art House / 7.30pm / £7-£10The Scottish music download service is offering free entry to this gig if you buy a £10 annual subscription. That's mightily tempting when they've pulled together three of the east coast's most promising acts, including our recent blog guest Panda Su. More info here.

GlasgowWoodlands CreaturesSunday @ The Halt Bar / 7pm / FreeEither stay in and try and name as many woodland animals as possible, or go to this event. I suggest the latter.

Soulsavers ft. Mark LaneganTuesday @ Oran Mor / £12.50 / 7.30pmDark electronic project featuring the former Screaming Trees frontman’s unmistakeable vocals.**UtR's gig of the week**We Were Promised Jetpacks, Some Young Pedro, Broken Records, Sparrow and the WorkshopThursday @ The Mill (Oran Mor) / Free but ticketed / 8pmCelebrating its first birthday, one of the better things corporate America has done for independent music welcomes back some favourite headliners and their own hot tips. Tickets are predictably like gold dust, but it’s sure to be a great night.

Proud Mary, John Rush, Majestic Dandelion, The ScuffersThursday @ ABC2 / £10 / 7pmUp-and-coming Glasgow-based Americana from the Scuffers, kicking off a night in support of Proud Mary’s new album. Local acts John Rush and Majestic Dandelion complete the bill.

Run Toto Run, Maple Leaves, Sorren MacleanFriday @ King Tut’s / £5 / 8.30pmAn eclectic line-up courtesy of Exposure Showcase, claiming to highlight the best of new bands across the UK. Run Toto Run make playful, sweet-voiced electropop while Maple Leaves’ summery folk has already come recommended. Mull-based singer-songwriter Maclean completes the line-up.

Sunday, 9 August 2009

Radar recommends: 9 - 15 August

[Dollskabeat: playing support to Telepathe on Wednesday]

The size of this column seems to ebb and flow from week to week. Last week there was little musical sustenance for Scotland's music lovers; this week there's enough out there to give you a dose of heartburn if they're not careful. If you happen to live in the 'big two' that is...

The GRV Fest: Ritalin Kids, Dupec, Boycotts, The Nature BoysFriday @ The GRV £tbc 5pm onwardsThe first night of The GRV's big bash is stuffed with local talent, including two of our favourites in Dupec and Boycotts.

Young Fathers, Unicorn KidSaturday @ Cabaret Voltaire £7 8pmProving that Edinburgh's music scene is more diverse than first meets the eye, Young Fathers and Unicorn Kid bring bombastic hip hop and sugar-rich techno to the table respectively.

Friday, 3 July 2009

Tweet Nothings, feat. Edwyn Collins, Errors, My Latest Novel

Can there be a better way to whittle away the hours inside a sweaty tour van than letting the world know your deepest, darkest thoughts in 140 characters? What’s that you say ? Mind-altering chemicals? Lasciviously-intended harlots? MYSPACE? Pah...whatever Grandad. These hipsters ain’t interested in languid cliches: Tweeting is the new Rock ‘n’ Roll. Fact.

So here it is, the Under the Radar segment you’ve been waiting for with baited breath and giddy stomach: Our weekly round-up of your idols’ idle tweets. HUZZAH...

Edwyn Collins is as polite as you’d expect from a New Pop luminary...@EdwynCollins: “Up late after busy day. Sunday Times interview, Radio 3 The Verb. Very nice man, Ian McMillan. I sang Home Again and gabbed.”

Tango in the Attic scoff in the face of punctuation as they plan a Glenrothes day out...@tangointheattic: “ Thinking of putting on a bus to PJs on friday from glenrothes if theres enough demand, give us an email or txt if your interested!”

John B McKenna does his bit for the Glasgow tourism industry...@johnbmckenna: “Last night a man fell asleep in the pub, wouldn’t wake up, so we phoned an ambulance, he woke up, peed on the wall, fell asleep on the wall.”

Pragmatism and capitalisation is the name of the game for Findo Gask...@wearefindogask: “Are practicing hard in order to BE BETTER THAN WE ARE NOW.”

My Latest Novel wholly embrace the joys of Twitter by giving up on rational conversation...@MyLatestNovel: “The smurf would turn flesh coloured! Can something be flesh coloured? Surely flesh is a composite of tones not a colour?”

Salesmanship is clearly not Dupec’s forte....@Dupec: “Try out the new hand driers at @cabaretvoltaire at our gig tonight which is FREE entry and cheap bevvy. On at 8.”

Sixpeopleaway get into the Wimbledon swing of things...@sixpeopleaway: "The faintly robotic & precisely disciplined motions of the ballboys/girls at Wimbledon is starting to freak me out ever so slightly..."

RBRBR go from a web of sound to a web of SPLAT...@RBRBR: "Big old spider in my trainer this morning. Didn't notice until the shoe was on. :-( "

Unicorn Kid is creating his own heatwave...@UnicornKid: "Played the sweatiest show in Unicorn Kid history tonight! There was at least a pint's worth in my t shirt."

And finally, Errors say what this half of Under the Radar's editorial team has been thinking all week...@Weareerrors: "Too actual f*cking hot to do anything. F*ck off sun."

Words: Billy Hamilton(and Twitter)

Musicians of Scotland: Tweet something interesting/funny/newsworthy this week and you too could feature in Tweet Nothings. Just think how proud your Mum will be.Spotted any other tweeting gems we've missed out on? Share your favourite weekly tweets with us below...

Sunday, 28 June 2009

Radar recommends: 28 June - 4 July

[There Will Be Fireworks: lighting the fuse on their debut album this week]

So farewell then, Michael Jackson. The twinkle-toed king of pop, who played Scotland just once at Glasgow Green in 1992, is no more. The question is, will any of our nation's up and coming musicians have a go at a Jacko cover this week? You'll have to get out there and find out for yourself.

We See LightsThursday @ Wee Red Bar. Doors 8pm, £4We See Lights are "connected by the Forth River" and make chiming, folky indie.

Brother Louis Collective, Little Kicks, Saint Jude's InfirmaryThursday @ Sneaky Pete's. Doors 7pm, £5.Brother Louis Collective do polished indie with a Scottish accent, flute and piano, and will play the T Break tent at a certain festival next month. What's more, you get to see a band we recommended only last week, Aberdeen's Little Kicks, and perennial local favourites St Jude's.

The Skinny Dip: The Twilight Sad, Adam Stafford, The Foundling WheelThursday @ Bongo Club. Doors 7.30pm, £10We can hardly stop listening to the two new tracks that have appeared on The Twilight Sad's MySpace of late, and with a hugely anticipated album on the way, this is a real coup for The Skinny's fledgling gig night. As if that wasn't enough, you also get a solo set from Y'All is Fantasy Island's Adam Stafford and experimental sounds from The Foundling Wheel.

Dog TiredFriday @ Bannermans. Doors 9pm, £freeFor thrashing, shouty tattooed heavy metal, you can't beat Dog Tired. Screaming guitars, thrumming bass complimented by comprehensible lyrics - what more could a metalhead ask for? Well, a debut album due to be released this year is one thing, and a gig which promises a 'groove-ridden, train wreck of a sound' is another. An unrelenting, driving cacophony of pure noise should top that off nicely. Dog Tired are playing Bannerman's with Battle of the War Machines. Yes, you will want to start a pit, so get your metal groove on and check them out. [KS]

:cryoverbillionairesSaturday @ Sneaky Pete's. Doors 7pm, £5:cryoverbillionaires mix it up a bit; a psychedelic wall of sound battling with hints of dance, drum and bass and topped off with swooping choruses. Add to this their lyrical soundness and impressive skill when it comes to musical experimentation, and you have a band not to be ignored. [KS]

NeovioletSaturday @ The Ark Doors 7.30pm, £4Neoviolet are an indie rock three-piece with a lightly folky tinge. Slowly but surely making their mark across Edinburgh's pubs and clubs, they combine relaxing, jangling guitars with intense, angsty lyrics. If you're a fan of pitch-perfect harmonies and fancy blending this with a smooth undertone of cello, then catch the band at the Ark on 4th July for a reassuringly laid-back gig from a band who have very much found and filled their chilled-out niche. [KS]

**UtR's gig of the week**There Will Be Fireworks, Lions.Chase.Tigers, We Hung Your LeaderWednesday @ Nice'n'Sleazy. Doors 7.30pm, £5The thrilling TWBF launch their jaw-droppingly good self-titled debut album, with support from one of our favourites, Lions.Chase.Tigers, and the aforementioned We Hung Your Leader.

*Check the blog this week for an exclusive track-by-track album preview from Fireworks singer Nicholas McManus.

Friday, 15 May 2009

On the radar: Dupec

Play: Snakes & Ladders

Something has to be said for bands who have stuck together since childhood. The three members of Edinburgh band Dupec (James Yuill, Paul Bannon and Jamie Steel), who met "at the height of our footballing careers at Roseburn Primary School" and started along the music path in 2007, know a thing or two about the long haul. We caught up with them for a spot of Q&A on the eve of their support slot for incendiary Californian racket-eers, Crystal Antlers.

Why are you doing what you're doing?James: For fun basically. It's good for us to be involved with something creative that we enjoy.Paul: If I didn't have this I'd probably be an alcoholic or dead.Jamie: Music has always been a major part of our lives so being in a band makes sense. Also, probably, a lack of general direction between the three of us has helped find us here.Describe your music.James: I don't know really. Energetic? We only play songs that we like. Sometimes we'll work on a song for a while and if we think its rubbish, it'll get binned without seeing the light of day. But if we like something we're doing, we'll fast-track it into the set. We take influence from a lot of different music.

What do you think makes you different from anything else out there?James: We're pretty noisy for a three piece. Something we spend a lot of time on is trying to make parts of songs sound big. Creating that dynamic can sometimes be challenging but is something that is consistent in a lot of our stuff. [Listen to the end of 'Snakes & Ladders' for evidence - ed]

What do you think you can achieve?James: I'd really really like to become an octo-champ on Countdown but don't think the band will help me. Band-wise, anything over and above having a good time is a very welcome bonus.Jamie: Personally, I always wanted to be in the Wu-Tang Clan so I'm hoping Dupec can act as a platform for that.

What do you make of the current Scottish music scene?James: Really good. Loads of our favourite bands just now are Scottish and at various stages of their careers: We Were Promised Jetpacks, Endor, Lyons, The Twilight Sad, Errors, Frightened Rabbit, Jesus H. Foxx and Mogwai to name a fraction of them. Venues like Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh and The Captain's Rest in Glasgow have been great for live music recently. There are a lot more of good promoters putting on good shows and a fair deal for the acts these days. Nights like Trampoline, Brown Bear and The Mill are excellent.

Looking forward to playing a show with Crystal Antlers?James: I'm really excited about this show. Crystal Antlers have been in a few 'tipped for '09' lists and rightly so. Their EP and album are definitely on the most played playlist on my iPod.

Play: I Can Count To Twelve

Dupec play support to Crystal Antlers and Times New Viking at Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh on Monday (18 May). They also play Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh on 9 June.